The condom “with teeth”, invented to combat rape attempts

Sonnet Ehlers was on call in a night, 40 years ago, when she attended the internment of a woman who had been raped. “She looked at me and said: “If I had teeth there …”. I promised that I will create something in a day to help women in this situation”, said Sonnet Ehlers.

40 years after the incident she released “Rape-axis” condom.

Ehlers distributes the condoms for free to women in South African cities hosting the football games at World Cup, 2010.

This new type of condom is made of latex and it can be fixed as a sanitary pad. The condom “Rape-axis” has streaks of rubber and is attached to male penis during penetration like hooks which mimics the shape of teeth.

Once attached, it can be removed only through surgery.

“It is painful, no aggressor will be able to urinate or walk as long as it is attached. If he tries to pull out, the condoms will tighten further”, said the author of the invention.

Sonnet Ehlers sold her house and her car to do this project and plans to distribute 30,000 free condoms during this World Cup in South Africa. In order to design this type of condom, she consulted with a team of engineers, psychologists and gynecologists.

Critics of this invention considers, however, that the new condom is not viable in the long-run and expose women to greater risks of being abused by men “trapped” in this device.

So far, human and women rights organizations engaged in various activities in South Africa, including Human Right Watch and Care International, have not presented their views on this invention.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of violence against women, including rapes, in the world, according to the website of Human Right Watch.

In most African countries, convictions handed down by courts in cases of rape are rare. Rape victims doesn’t have immediate access to medical care and DNA tests that could provide evidence against the perpetrators have prohibitive costs.